Trainings

Trainings

Make your communication more effective and strategic

We don’t just help scientists find their voice – we help them use it. COMPASS pairs fundamental skill building with strategies and connections to drive impact. Working with us, you’ll gain communication tools you can use right away and the confidence to speak about your work.

Upcoming workshops

Open for registration

Finding the Story

Finding the Story

Date Friday, Apr 14, 2023Time 10:00 am-01:00 pm America/Los_Angeles

Throughout the workshop, you will expand your understanding of the role of story in science communication and build the skills you’ll need to incorporate story into your communication strategy.

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Writing with the Message Box

Writing with the Message Box

Date Friday, Jun 09, 2023Time 10:00 am-01:00 pm America/Los_Angeles

In this 3-hour virtual workshop, we’ll support you as you plan out how you’re going to strategically share your key messages in your writing, so that you can achieve your communication goals.

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Our Team

Trailblazers in science communication

COMPASS is the trusted partner for scientists that want their work to make a difference. Our team has potent connections in the journalism and policymaking worlds, a passion to support scientists to share their insights beyond their peers, and deep knowledge about environmental topics. We understand the complexities of public discussions and decision making, and will help you consider how, when, and where your science is most relevant, and who you talk to. We bring our experience, insight, and social capital to the table to help you achieve your communication goals.

Signature Workshops

Customizable trainings

Please note that most COMPASS events are currently being held virtually.

Getting Started: Virtual Message Box

Do you want to talk about your research in a way that will make people lean in and listen? Honing your message and illustrating a few key points will help you start meaningful conversations. Perfect for virtual groups, this training session provides an introduction to the Message Box, our signature tool to distill your science down to what matters most. COMPASS staff guide you through the Message Box and facilitate hands-on practice and small group feedback sessions with your peers via webcam. Lots of discussion, activities, and built-in breaks keep everyone engaged and invested throughout the virtual workshop. ...Read More

  • Message Box introduction
  • Discussion and Q&A with COMPASS staff
  • Hands-on Message Box practice with peers
  • Up to 4 hours
  • Up to 25 participants per session
  • Virtual only

(Starts at $4,000/session)

Contact us to book a Virtual Message Box

Strong Foundations: Building on the Message Box

Ready to find and share the relevance of your research? It’s not just about skills, but about your strategy and goals. Our Strong Foundations workshops provide a deeper dive into the science behind effective communication and additional insight into preparing for conversations with specific audiences that you want to reach. You’ll get plenty of hands-on practice sharing what you do, what you know, and why it matters, in clear, lively terms. ...Read More

Building on the material in our Getting Started workshop, COMPASS staff guide you through the Message Box and facilitate hands-on practice and small group feedback sessions with your peers via webcam. An additional session, focusing on a key audience or skill set of your choice, expands your tool box. Lots of discussion, activities, and built-in breaks keep everyone engaged and invested throughout the virtual workshop.

  • Message Box introduction
  • Discussions and Q&A with COMPASS staff
  • Hands-on Message Box practice with peers and COMPASS staff
  • Introduction to the science of science communication with COMPASS staff
  • Feedback from COMPASS staff
  • Customized session on specific audiences (such as policy makers or journalists) or skill sets (such as goal-setting, strategic communication, or storytelling) with COMPASS staff
  • Up to 6 hours over 2 days
  • Virtual – up to 25 participants per session 

(Starts at $6,000/session)

Contact us to book a Strong Foundations Workshop

Communication in Context: Our Flagship 1-Day Workshop

All communication happens in context. This workshop is designed to build your group’s understanding of that context as you develop core messages and practice sharing them in conversation. We bring in highly-regarded journalists and/or policymakers to provide you with a window into their world and give direct, personal feedback on your messages. These subject matter experts get to know you, and your work, at a level that isn’t typically possible....Read More

Each workshop is customized to meet the goals of the group through collaboration with the organizers and a pre-workshop survey to help us understand your science, communication goals, and needs. Our workshops are safe and inclusive places to learn and grow, and are deeply interactive. You’ll build your competence, your confidence, and your connections.

  • Message Box introduction
  • Discussions and Q&A with subject matter experts and COMPASS staff 
  • Introduction to the science of science communication with COMPASS staff
  • Hands-on Message Box practice with subject matter experts and peers 
  • Personal feedback from subject matter experts and COMPASS staff
  • Personalized practice scenarios with subject matter experts
  • Up to 1 full day
  • Up to 20 participants

(Starts at $13,000; Contact us to discuss details for virtual options.)

Contact us to book a Communication in
Context Workshop

Communication for Impact: Our Flagship 2-Day Workshop

Communicating with purpose can change the world. This workshop builds on everything in our one-day ‘Communication in Context’ workshop, and adds up to a day of activities designed to help you identify your communication goals and develop your plan for achieving them. We bring in highly-regarded journalists and/or policymakers to provide you with a window into their world and insight into how your work can best be shared there. These subject matter experts give direct, personal feedback on your messages and your plan for sharing them....Read More

Each workshop is customized to meet the goals of the group through collaboration with the organizers and a pre-workshop survey to help us understand your science, communication goals, and needs. Our workshops are safe and inclusive places to learn and grow, and are deeply interactive. You’ll build your competence, your confidence, and your connections.

  • Message Box introduction
  • Discussions and Q&A with subject matter experts and COMPASS staff 
  • Introduction to the science of science communication with COMPASS staff
  • Hands-on Message Box practice with peers and subject matter experts and peers 
  • Personal feedback from subject matter experts and COMPASS staff
  • Personalized practice scenarios with subject matter experts
  • Customized small-group sessions with subject matter experts and COMPASS trainers on focus areas such as: working with policymakers or journalists, getting started with social media, writing op eds, and more 
  • Customized small-group sessions with subject matter experts and COMPASS trainers to help you prepare for impact, such as: storytelling, setting your engagement goals, network mapping, and more
  • Up to 2 full days 
  • Up to 20 participants

(Starts at $25,000; contact us to discuss details for virtual options)

Contact us to book a Communication for Impact Flagship Workshop

Contact Us About Training

We’re constantly innovating to better meet the needs of the scientists we work with. Wondering whether we can create something that’s just right for your group? Please contact us at trainings@COMPASSscicomm.org.

Contact Us

I’ve been engaging with external audiences about my research on controversial forest management issues for nearly 40 years, but this was the best opportunity I’ve had to participate in a critical evaluation of the whole communication process with a group of research peers and media experts… Simply hearing what a ‘day in the life of a journalist’ is like will change the way I react to the next email or phone request for an interview.

~ Dr. Tom Veblen, Distinguished Professor, University of Colorado, Boulder

Four well-known, leading reporters accompanied COMPASS and helped with the workshop. These leading journalists discussed how the media is changing and the importance of communicating science to the public and to policymakers. They shared their personal perspectives on what makes a good science story and how to get our stories told.

~ Dr. John Reganold, Regents Professor, Washington State University

This is not just another communication training. COMPASS brings tools and techniques, but also the opportunity for intensive practice with nationally known journalists. And scientists trust COMPASS: their staff were trained as scientists, so they have an understanding of our perspective and experience. Because they know the science, they never asked us to change our message, but helped us translate it for different audiences.

~ Dr. Diana Wall, Director, School of Global Environmental Sustainability, Colorado State University

COMPASS was a tremendous force multiplier of my ability to communicate my science effectively and compellingly. I use some aspect of my COMPASS training literally every single week.

~ Dr. Dawn Wright, Chief Scientist, Esri

I learned a new identity for myself, that I can be a good scientist and a good citizen at the same time.

~ Michelle del Rio, PhD Student, University of Texas

You know your COMPASS training worked when a congressional staffer repeats your message back to you more than a year later!

~ Dr. Jennifer Balch, Director, Earth Lab; Associate Professor of Geography, University of Colorado Boulder

Having someone with a critical eye who knows the science but also how things work on Capitol Hill, someone who can say ‘that’s too much jargon' or explain the proposed legislation or the constraints—that’s an invaluable service that COMPASS provides.

~ Dr. Scott Doney, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute

It was a big eye opener hearing from the journalists that my passion for the topic is a part of the story. I've always thought that my science should be kept separate from me as a person. So one of the most valuable things for me from the training is realizing we can't be afraid to be an individual, even if we represent an agency.

~ Dr. Libby Jewett, Director, Ocean Acidification Program, NOAA

Tools & Resources

Online resources

Check out our Tools & Resources page for materials and blog posts that give you a preview of what to expect when you work with COMPASS — including a downloadable version of the Message Box, our signature tool to distill your science down to what matters most.

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